Three Weeks Sober

21 days – three weeks sober. Three glorious weeks without a drop of booze – or cigarettes!

I am still very wary that this is early days, and still treating myself with kid gloves.

I cannot believe that I have made it to 3 weeks without alcohol! I on my last attempt, I went around 6 months. That was the time when I thought that I had ‘cracked it’. Looking at it now, and after a lot more research, I am pretty convinced that I was on a wave of pink cloud syndrome that made me convince myself that I was ok to have a drink. Then I drank. Then I was back to square one. I am extremely conscious of not doing that again.

So while I am feeling overall really well, I am sticking with the kid gloves approach to myself.

Water is my friend at the moment, and I have a bottle around me at all times. Slow sips, and big gulps if alcohol does cross my mind.

Food is quickly becoming my friend too, but I am trying to be aware of this and not just end up as a big munchie monster. BUT it all tastes sooo good!!

Body and Physical Health – How Is It All Feeling After Three Weeks Sober

I think that my physical health is starting to turn a corner at 3 weeks without alcohol. My stomach has settled quite a bit and the big bloated bulge has started to subside – a bit. Early days in the grand scheme of things, and I have to be realistic about expectations.
I have had to stop running (hopefully temporarily) due to a sore foot. Not sure what happened but the top of my foot is quite sore. So, I have replaced running with other forms of cardio – stair climber and cross-trainer. Less impact than running but still allows me to keep a sweat on!

I have been suffering from numbness in toes for several months now, on and off – I am hoping that this will die down with a few weeks without alcohol or cigarettes. If not, then it is off to speak to the doctor and also face the very real potential of permanent nerve damage. I want to give it a ‘decent amount of time’ (whatever that is) before I speak to a doctor about this. Long enough to maybe write drinking as the cause.

I have been taking pictures of myself – these are purely personal and just for me at this stage – maybe one day I will share. I would like to think that I will be able to have progress pictures in the future, ones that show a change that I can see. As it stands though, I think that I can see a difference in my appearance…but again, give it time and keep my expectations realistic.

Sleep

Last night I was in bed at 930pm, sleep just after 10 (according to my smartwatch) and awake by 430 am. In the gym at 5 am. So how has my sleep been? Remarkably feeling more refreshed every day. I am still taking zopiclone although that is reduced to 3.75mg and also magnesium. The magnesium is also reduced to just one tablet.

According to my sleep app, this has been the best sleep that I have had (94 score – for what it is worth??!!) since stopping drinking. Over the past few weeks I have been utilising audio books to help keep my mind from racing and it has been working. I have also been a bit worried of not using the audio books, but last night I tried it without and went to sleep fine, and seemed to have a deeper sleep than ever. So, time will tell with this.
Sleep is an amazing gift!

Food

At the moment, I am really loving food. My taste buds are here in force, and I am starting to treat food as a treat and taking my time with it. It is strange not having a cigarette after a meal, but this is something that is now starting to become a lot easier.
I am enjoying all types of food. I am probably eating more than I should, but I am not going to beat myself up about it at all. In fact..I am going to enjoy it!
When I am going through this journey, I remember from previous efforts that I quickly forget and take things like eating for granted. I have to remember that it was only a matter of a few weeks ago that I could not eat anything without feeling sick, bloated, or full. The thought of eating was just not really top of the pops for me.
Now I am eating more than ever which is great, and the way mother nature intended it really. I am allowing myself to turn back into a human and am starting to feel that.

Mood

This week I have found my mood state to be…ahem…’quite challenging’, shall we say.
I have found that my mood has been swinging at a furious rate, but I have made sure that I have self-awareness about this. The plus side of this is that I have found myself having a whole lot more awareness of my mood. I have been identifying when my mood is a bit snappy, and with this I have taken myself away from family or anyone who I might be snappy towards. I am currently trying to rationalise my thought process, even when I ‘know I am in the right’…or so I think I am. I am removing myself from the situation….biting my tongue…and letting the moment pass. Sounds great written down, reality is a headfuck to deal with.

Keeping in line with my newfound hobby of reading, I purchased a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. It is a best-seller and well respected in the self-improvement market. It also aligns very much with my personality. For years, I have been a creature of habit, albeit bad ones mainly. One thing that stuck with me since an early age was running. I have run for most of my life, even during a lot of the drunken times until the last 5 years or so.

So, it will be interesting to hear an ‘expert’s’ take on habits..and it might well be a book that hits home with me!

Let’s keep this going – I am really looking forward to seeing 28 days – ONE CALENDAR MONTH!!